The mountain climber

In 2006, a piece of ordinary New Zealand stone - greywacke - was put in place in the Church of England cemetery in Manly, Sydney among the distinctly Australian memorials.
It was placed on a previously unmarked grave of a remarkable woman who had conquered the mountains of New Zealand.
Emmeline Freda Du Faur was born September 16, 1882 in New South Wales to Frederick Eccleston Du Faur and his second wife Blanche Mary Elizabeth Woolley.
Despite starting training as a nurse she never finished, instead, due to having independent wealth, she travelled and climbed.
In 1906 while spending the summer in New Zealand Freda saw a picture of Aoraki/Mount Cook and she became determined to climb it.
Already an experienced climber she nevertheless had no skill with snow and rope work and she turned to guide Peter Graham with whom she trained.
While in training she went on to climb Mount Sealy. Society frowned on an unmarried woman alone with a man so she had to take a chaperon and was forced to wear a skirt over knickerbockers and puttees.
Just before the climb she trained at the Dupain Institute of Physical Education in Sydney where she met Muriel “Minnie” Cadogan who became her life-long lover. Minnie ran a well-respected feminist club in Sydney.
On December 3, 1910, Freda became the first woman to climb Aoraki/Mount Cook and said she felt very little, very lonely and much inclined to cry.
Shortly after she climbed Mount De la Beche, Mount Green and was the first to climb Mount Chudleigh.
Freda climbed and named Mount Du Faur then went on to climb Mount Nazomi, Mount Dampier, Mount Pibrac and Mount Cadogan - both of which she named, the last after her love.
In 1913, she along with Graham and David Thomson climbed all three peaks of Aoraki/Mount Cook - the grand traverse.
Her last climb in New Zealand was Mount Sefton - and it was her last climb ever,
Freda and Minnie moved to England and settled in Bournemouth. They did have intentions of further climbing but World War One intervened.
In 1929 Minnie suffered a breakdown and Freda arranged for them both to go to a nursing home to rest. But almost immediately after their arrival Minnie was gone.
It’s unclear if Cadogan’s family forcibly separated them but Minnie was put into a separate institution. Freda was able to visit her a couple of times before she was banned. Minnie then took her own life.
Freda returned to Sydney but suffered depression and on September 13, 1935 she poisoned herself. She was privately interred.
And for years her grave was unmarked until farmer Ashley Gaulter read a book about her and went to find the grave. After a newspaper report a stonemason came forward to help them put up the memorial.
Now her place of rest is properly marked.
Picture of Freda and her guides from Te Papa's collection.